Speaker: Obstruction of Geneva Deal not Beneficial to West

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani blamed the US for the snag in implementation of the Geneva nuclear deal between Tehran and major world powers, saying the West would derive no benefit from throwing a spanner in the nuclear agreement works.

“If roadblocks are set in the way of the agreement reached in Geneva and if it (the Geneva deal) fails to yield results, it will not benefit the West,” Larijani told reporters in the Iranian city of Qom on Sunday.

He also criticized the White House for reneging on its commitments concerning the recent Geneva deal on Iran's nuclear program, saying the US is widely perceived to have stymied the plans for implementation of the accord.

His comments came after the US Treasury and State departments on Thursday slapped sanctions against more than a dozen companies and individuals for evading US sanctions against Iran. The blacklisting is widely seen as an attempt to head off moves in Congress to impose additional sanctions that would be in clear breach of the Geneva agreement.

The new bans can be the bane of the Geneva deal of last month as the sides are still in talks on ways of implementing the document. On Thursday, Iran's delegation left talks with representatives of the G5+1 in Vienna on the implementation of the deal after the US expanded its sanctions blacklist, with Iranian officials arguing the new measures are in breach of the agreement brokered in Geneva last month.

Iran and the Group 5+1 (the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany) on November 24 signed a six-month deal on Tehran’s nuclear program based on which the world powers agreed to suspend some non-essential sanctions and to imposed no new nuclear-related bans in return for Tehran's decision to freeze parts of its nuclear activities and to allow more inspection of its nuclear facilities.

During the half-year period, Iran and the G5+1 are due to negotiate a comprehensive deal with the aim of resolving for good the standoff over Iran's nuclear program after a decade of on-off meetings and failed attempts.

“The recent negotiations have been aimed at materialization of the Geneva accord and its implementation, and the westerners’ recent move has caused misunderstandings,” Larijani explained.

The fresh anti-Iran sanctions have already drawn condemnation from various Iranian authorities.

“Unfortunately, we are witnessing serious confusion in the approach, decisions and remarks of American officials, and the US administration is fully responsible for the consequences of (these) indiscreet measures,” Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham said on Friday.

“The onus for consequences of such indiscreet measures is all on the US administration,” she warned.

Iran's chief nuclear negotiator and deputy foreign minister, Abbas Araqchi, said the US move went against the spirit of the deal struck in Geneva last month.